DOC Espresso

1: 30 pm on a Thursday. I wanted a coffee and cake but was told they only do takeaway coffee at lunchtime. There were many small tables outside begging to be sat at for 15 minutes while I spent my money. I’m sure another place will be happy to help.

If you’re looking to feel like you’re amongst that true Melbourne culture with an atmosphere on par with that of the streets of Venice, drinking deadbeat coffee at this joint is the easiest way to do so. It’s a shame it’s called DOC Espresso. If they removed the Espresso there wouldn’t be any expectations. It would just be DOC and the cold bleak nature - synonymous with the Doctors, would be both more accurately relatable and applicable to DOCs coffee. The water was nice.

We have been a long-time customers here with family and my colleagues. This evening I went there with my parents and the meals were extremely disappointing. The penne pasta was swimming in oil and the bottom of the lasagna was also burnt. We actually sat down there because on the board by the door there was hand made gnocchi as a special advertised. We first ordered our drinks and then when the waitress came to take our order we were told the special gnocchi was not yet ready. We asked her when it will be ready and she went in to ask and was told that the older "special" hand made pasta had to be sold first before the gnocchi would be available. So the advertised pasta was unavailable but some other unadvertised pasta was! Most bizarre. So we ordered from the menu which was very disappointing to say the least. Two of us could not finish our meals.see photos. In all the time we have been coming to the DOC, I've never had a worse meal. The manager did say there are problems with getting good chefs because of COVID.still no excuse for allowing to serve such "meals".

Legit Italian in Melbourne. (Carlton) daily special is the must. So cozy and you can just hop in by yourself and enjoy a great cup of coffee and small bites. Or you can go with lots of friends and still feel welcomed.

Another beautiful breakfast, great value and excellent service.definitely the place to be for brunch

Lovelovelove DOC. We travel to come eat here, do yourself a favour- go to DOC & mangia, ciao

Hi. Been a patron of Doc over the years so thought going out sat night with my interstate guests would be a nice experience for them as they wanted to eat Italian. Ok we didn’t book. Fine. Told would be 20 mins. Was over half an hour.
Tables were empty and no one seemed to know what going on.
No organisation but we were patient. Meal order taken.
Had to ask for my wine to come.
Food took easily 45 or more minutes and was totally ordinary for two of us. My gnocchi was tepid and pellet like. The baby octopus was some pulverised desiccated textured thing …I tried to locate a morsel
amongst the lane slug like gnocchi. The carbonara looked like egg glug and totally unattractive. Not eaten either. Son was starving so he ate dons plus his own mushroom
Pasta. - which was small but adequate in taste. Such a letdown. There was a lovely woman who tried to tend to us though but clearly only so much she could control. Do not waste your time or money …plenty other places more deserving. And yes was asked to note we could leave a tip when I went up to the counter….

First time visiting but unfortunately it will also be the last. Waited 50 minutes for our lasagne and rigatoni. Once it arrived, the rigatoni was undercooked, not al dente, so had to send it back. They offered a replacement but I wasn't keen on waiting again. Two stars as the lasagne was good and the staff were apologetic. I'm happy to wait for good food but this was a miss. Hopefully the kitchen was just having a bad day as there's too much competition on Lygon Street to provide this experience to their guests.

The Asian girl working there is so arrogant and rude! Poor service!
Don’t go there to spend any money that the Asian girl not even respect you!
Although food was just okay!

Pasta was nicely cooked and flavourful, maybe a little bit overpriced. The service was ok and the wait was quite long. It's a very good italian restaurant but it's definitely not my favourite.

Like the other reviews food is great here. Pasta is fresh and very well cooked. Recommend the pappardelle and the tiramisu for dessert. Delicious! Also my experience with the waitresses was great, unlike some of the negative reviews about the wait staff I see here. Attentive and friendly, no complaints! Worth checking out for sure if you’re craving pasta on Lygon St.

Great place for a break, great coffee, just as at any other D. O. C.
Staff prompt and friendly.
Highly recommended!

A great menu of lovely lunch dishes with a changing superb daily pasta. Could have more local wines, rather than inflicting the carbon footprint of importing wines from Europe. But still lovely food, wine and service. We currently only eat outside and this is well catered for here.

For how busy the place was it didn't reflect the quality of what we expected. The menu was confused and short, and the chef was yelling at the staff in the kitchen. It's not Ramsays and no one likes eating angry food.
Good selection of wines, and presented ok (completely left off one of our dishes) but I wouldn't go back here in a hurry with many other Lygon St establishments that know how to do Italian properly.

Yum yum yum yum YUMMMM! DOC has been a staple for delicious Italian food on Lygon street for years! Once Melbourne came out of lockdown was one of the first places I headed. The mushroom Papadelle is the standout and I fall in love with it everytime. There can often be a bit of a wait but it is worth it for the delicious food

Best flat white I’ve had in years. The spicy fruit toast is great - a thick cut and oh-so-light; comes with high quality butter and a richly flavoured jam.

Absolutely delicious. Never disappoints. Even during peak dinner hours and full house, the wait was short.miglior pasta a melbourne

Fresh seasonal pasta dishes. The menu changes fairly frequently, so be prepared to have a change every so often. The pasta is always fresh and perfectly cooked, with both complex and more simple ingredients on offer, for personal taste. The wine menu is excellent, with a range of bottles to suit the dishes. The service is a always excellent.

Always enjoy coming here for either lunch or dinner. The menu delivers classic Italian dishes which can be accompanied by the selection of wines. Last time I came here for lunch and had one of the deli sandwiches. Very good as a basic standard of Italian food.

Delicious food in true DOC fashion but the wait just wasn’t worth it. Appetisers took about half and hour to arrive while the pasta took approx an hour after ordering. Although the restaurant was relatively busy and my partner and I are understanding people, it didn’t quite add up on the long waiting time. The host was quite rude and at times completely forgot/ignored us but Gilberto was a star! Would NOT recommend unless you don’t mind waiting an hour for pasta